


Spit and Bubblegum

by Crowgirl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bubblegum, Dean Is Not That Smooth, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, No Redeeming Nutritional Value Whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-13 14:54:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3385898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crowgirl/pseuds/Crowgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>‘Pure Americana and don’t you forget it.’</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spit and Bubblegum

**Author's Note:**

  * For [potteralda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/potteralda/gifts).



‘Okay.’ Dean slaps his handful down on the table and the small packages scatter.

Castiel scoops them back together carefully and looks up at Dean. ‘Why is this necessary?’

‘It’s just something you’ve gotta know.’ Dean shucks off his jacket, hangs it on the back of the door, and comes back to the table.

‘This, I don’t need to see.’ Sam stands up from the end of the bed where he’s been pulling on his boots. ‘I’ll be over in the cafe.’

‘You’ll do anything for free wifi, won’t you?’ Dean hooks an arm over the back of the chair and watches Sam shrug into his coat.

‘If I didn’t, we wouldn’t get a lot done ‘round here.’ Sam picks up his backpack and grins at Castiel. ‘Don’t let him bully you, Cas.’

‘Pssh -- like I could.’ Dean waves his brother away and turns back to the table. ‘Now. Which do you want to start with?’

Castiel looks down at the scatter of brightly colored, slim rectangles on the table before him. He picks one up gingerly. _**Green Apple!!!**_ the packaging announces in improbably pink letters. Another shrieks _**New! Longer Lasting! Original Bubble Flavor Is Back!**_ with bursts of confetti around the words. ‘Are you sure this is necessary?’ 

‘Yes.’ Dean reaches over and rips open two packages, one a dark purple and the other a bright pink striped with white and spills the wrapped pieces onto the top. ‘Okay, you’ve got your classic there--’ He nods to the _**New! Longer Lasting!**_ in Castiel’s hand, ‘And then your two best reboots: grape and peppermint.’ He points to each pile of pieces in turn.

Castiel puts down the two in his hand and eyes the wrapped squares dubiously. There’s a strong sweet scent wafting up to him and he wrinkles his nose. ‘Dean, these smell like--’

‘Pure Americana and don’t you forget it.’ Dean jabs a finger at him. ‘Now. Which one d’you want?’

Castiel suspects this has much less to do with teaching him ‘basic humaning,’ as Dean calls it, and more to do with boredom from having been stuck in a motel room for four days. The snow itself had kept them penned for two and now the only bridge out of town was so badly iced over that they are stuck until it thaws out. Locals were used to it, clearly finding their discomfiture more than a bit funny. The waitress at the motel cafe across the way clucked and chuckled at them when they kept showing up meal after meal -- but Castiel noticed that she was also cutting prices for them after she saw Sam and Dean covertly comparing wallets after one meal. 

The problem with existing from credit card scam to credit card scam is that, until one of them figures out something clever, they have to be where the mail is running in order for it to work.

‘Cas.’ Dean taps on the table and Castiel blinks.

‘This one.’ He chooses a piece from the grape pile and starts unwrapping it.

‘Good choice.’ Dean unwraps a piece from the same pile and pops it in his mouth.

Castiel examines the small chunk critically for a minute. It’s an unlikely shade of deep, even purple with a slight white cast on the corners and edges -- from age, he presumes, since the box had had a fine layer of dust on it when Dean found it. 

‘Chew it -- don’t stare at it.’ Before he can do anything, Dean picks up the gum and taps it against his lips. ‘Open up.’

Castiel frowns slightly but does. The gum is a sudden overwhelming sweetness on his tongue and there’s also a brief touch of Dean’s fingers: salt and warm and a little metallic from where Castiel knows he has been fiddling with his keys in his pocket. 

‘Just...let it warm up for a minute,’ Dean says, not taking his eyes off Castiel.

Obediently, Castiel does his best to wrap his tongue around the small chunk. He recognizes the feeling of slight disappointment that follows the slight taste of Dean’s skin as it fades away. He may not be good at basic humaning, but he isn’t a fool and he’s been in love before. 

‘All right, now give it a chew -- see if it’s ready to start blowing.’ Dean chomps loudly on his own gum by way of example and huffs out a perfectly small, round bubble. 

Castiel forgets his instructions in fascination with watching Dean’s lips bow and purse and the way the bubble of gum spreads glistening moisture along--

‘Now you.’ Dean pops the bubble and grins at Castiel.

Castiel tests the gum between his teeth and, a little dubiously, begins to chew at it. The initial stiffness gives way readily and the rush of sugary faux grape is quite pleasant once he gets used to it. He realises quickly that if he gives a particularly hard chew and then licks his lips, the taste and a slight stickyness linger pleasantly on his skin. 

When he looks up, Dean’s cheeks have gained a faint flush of color and he is biting his lower lip, staring at Castiel. ‘Dean?’

‘What?’ Dean’s eyes snap up. ‘Oh, yeah! Uh -- you got it nice and soft?’

Castiel gives a couple of last chews and nods. 

‘All right.’ Dean claps his hands on his thighs and scoots his chair a little forward so his knee is almost brushing Castiel’s. ‘So..all you gotta do is make a little...pocket with your tongue...and then...like...puff into it.’

‘Puff into a pocket,’ Castiel echoes. His lips are starting to feel tacky now and he runs the tip of his tongue over them, collecting the last bits of false sweetness from the corners of his mouth.

‘Uh...yeah.’ Dean clears his throat and points at his own mouth. ‘Like this, see?’

Castiel watches carefully as the tip of Dean’s pink tongue, coated in semi-transparent purple, pokes out between his lips, slick with saliva. Dean’s eyes almost cross as he tries to look at the tip of his own tongue and then the film of purple begins to balloon out, puffing into a uneven sphere. Dean lets it linger for a minute then, with a snap, pulls it back into his mouth and pops it, leaving a sweet film on his lower lip. He swipes this off with a thumb and sucks it dry. ‘Okay, now you.’

Castiel has to remind himself that he, too, has a mouthful of purple stuff -- for a moment, he was under the impression his mouth had gone bone-dry and the only thing that would relieve it was licking Dean’s lower lip.

Of course, this is foolishness and he swallows away excess saliva and begins prodding the gummy mass with the tip of his tongue. It takes a moment or two when he’s sure it is actually becoming more dense, but it finally starts to thin and stretch and he manages to wriggle his tongue into something like a sheath of gum.

‘Cas -- you okay in there?’ Dean’s mouth is quirking at the corners uncontrollably and Castiel feels the only appropriate response is to stick out his gum-covered tongue to prove what he has been trying to achieve.

'Okay, so you got that -- now you blow.’ Dean has his thumb tucked in one corner of his mouth, chewing or sucking on the tip, Castiel isn’t sure which. He is sure that the gesture makes Dean’s lower lip pout forward slightly, still shining with moisture and -- Castiel is sure -- tasting of the artificial grapey sweetness that fills his own mouth.

Aware that Dean is watching him, Castiel takes a deep breath and tries to funnel the air through his mouth to replicate the bubble. All he does, however, is blow air through his semi-open mouth and nearly whistle.

Dean grins at him. It isn’t a challenging expression this time, though; this time, it looks as though Dean is inviting him to share a joke, to share a moment that is just the two of them. ‘Nah, not like that. You’ve got to -- flatten out your tongue.’

‘My tongue is flat,’ Castiel points out, slightly incoherently through the film of gum.

‘Yeah, I know, but...’ Dean hesitates and swallows, the tip of his tongue darting over his lips again. ‘...sorta...like this...’ He pokes out the tip of his tongue and curls it into a tunnel, almost a letter U.

‘Ah.’ Castiel tries again, but with no better success. 

‘No, it’s kinda -- like this --’ Dean leans forward, his thumb touching the bottom edge of Castiel’s mouth. ‘--see, you’ve just gotta--’ 

When their mouths finally touch, Castiel is sure he isn’t the only one who forgets about gum.


End file.
